8 Movie Quotes Entrepreneurs Live By | iContact

There’s nothing us marketers love more than a good old inspirational quote. Your social media network of choice is probably bursting with “wise words” from the great and good throughout history, designed to kick you in the butt and inspire you to go on and do greater things (or at the very least earn a few social media “likes” along the way).

The movies are a great source of inspiration when it comes to getting the creative juices flowing.

Just for fun, we’ve compiled 8 of our favorite quotes from the silver screen that could have easily been written in the pages of a business manual.

“If you build it, they will come”: Actually a misquote from the classic baseball movie “Field of Dreams.” The actual quote stated “If you build it, he will come” – but you get the general idea. Although I would always recommend a period of research and testing before launching a new product or service, there’s nothing like getting a bit of skin in the game and just getting on and building things.

“Do or do not, there is no try”: Yoda’s perennial wisdom is a firm favorite quote on social media. Maybe I hang around with too many “Star Wars” geeks, but rarely a day goes by without someone trying to inspire me with a little Jedi magic. But if you think about it, Yoda is right. When you try, you are already factoring in the strong possibility that you might fail. When you do – you’re fully committed regardless of the results. It’s just a much more positive attitude.

“We’re gonna need a bigger boat”: Every entrepreneur dreams of that moment when they are going to have to scale their business quickly or get eaten alive. Remember, the sharks that swim in business waters might not be made out of rubber like Jaws, but if you’re not ready to move when they bite, your business might be in trouble.

“We’re going for the Full Monty”: Entrepreneurs looking to go one step further than their competition could do a lot worse than following the advice of the cast of British feel-good movie “The Full Monty” (although you probably will want to keep your pants on).

“Please sir, I want some more”: Polite and straight to the point. Young Oliver might have faced some hardships along the way (just like many entrepreneurs’ stories) but it all came good in the end. Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

“Show me the money”: You may or may not identify with Tom Cruise’s character in “Jerry Maguire,” but at the end of the day “the money” is the reason we are all in business. Even if you are not motivated by personal wealth (perhaps you represent a charity or a not-for-profit organization) – money makes good things happen, so embrace it.

“Just keep swimming”: Dory was full of good advice in the kids’ classic “Finding Nemo.” In fact, it worked out so well for the little blue fish she got her own movie. If a cartoon fish doesn’t do it for you, you could try replacing this with the quote “Run, Forrest, run.” It pretty much all adds up to the same thing.

“We've gone on holiday by mistake”: Taken from the cult British classic “Withnail and I,” this quote reminds me that not all eventualities can be planned for. But remember sometimes great things emerge from unplanned excursions. Some of the world’s greatest discoveries – like penicillin, chocolate chip cookies, potato chips and (my own personal favorite) the Slinky were discovered by accident.